Love, Life, and Gratitude by kristin

I heard a wonderful piece on NPR’s StoryCorps this morning. It made me think of how extraordinary supposedly “ordinary” people can be. I was very moved by the story, and struck by the wisdom and beauty of the woman’s life—her name was Lilly Love, and she had just passed away at 53.

Heart of Glass Fort Bragg

She was full of love and gratitude, even when her life hadn’t turned out exactly as she had expected. Yet hearing the story was only the beginning. This afternoon, I took a break from work and went to make my car payment. As I passed The Floor Store, (whose owner Monica Mankinen saves Pit Bulls), Monica’s mother Linda flagged me down. We commented that we hadn’t made time to say hello to each other in awhile, and then started talking about how important it is to notice the “little things in life.” Things like seeing a bird soaring in the sky, or noticing the stars when you go out to the woodpile at night (we live in the country here), or stopping to smell the summer flowers.

Starry Night

Peace Rose

This led me to tell her about the StoryCorps piece I had heard, and she told me that her 30 year old son, who usually doesn’t talk about such things, had stopped for tea that morning and told her about a story he had heard. We both got chills of recognition when we compared notes and realized it was the same story. We were so grateful we had stopped to enjoy a few moments together during our busy day. Gratitude is something we all forget at times, yet when we take a moment to be grateful, unexpected joys and special connections often come our way. Today I am grateful to live in this small town and know wonderful people like Linda. It’s a wonderful life! (which is also one of my favorite films)! When our Living Light students come to Fort Bragg, they often share stories of how much they enjoy our community. I’m so glad that Dan and Cherie decided to open the school in Fort Bragg.

Students made this apple pie

PS…Don’t forget the deadline for entering the Hot Raw Chef Video Recipe Contest is tomorrow, July 4th at Midnight. Good luck, and Happy 4th of July!